Retstrikkede Fingervanter - All Fingers and Thumbs Gloves in Danish

Marianne Holmen from strikkeglad.dk has written another Danish translation for one of my patterns - this time for the All Fingers and Thumbs Gloves. Mange Tak!

The Danish translation can be found here.
The original (english) version of this pattern is available here.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

A list of all translated versions of my patterns can be found in this blogpost.

Perpendicularity Mitts

 I love fingerless gloves. They are my favorite accessory – and knitting project. They are fun to knit and wear, and on top of that  they are so versatile – especially in terms of construction, which shows off nicely, if you use variegated or self-striping yarn. 

These mitts are constructed in seven parts, each of which either starting with a provisional CO or by picking up stitches from the edge, and some are finished by a three-needle BO (three times) and (the last one) by grafting in garter stitch. 

This means that the mitts are knitted in one piece each – so you only have to weave in two ends for each glove. 

The pattern is available on

• Ravelry
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip

This pattern PDF is 13 pages long and contains 

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting these fingerless gloves in one size – including 21 photos of the different stages
• explanations how to adapt the pattern to other sizes
• a schematic how the mitts are constructed
• short photo tutorials of the following techniques:
• provisional cast-on and how to undo it
• three-needle bind-off
• picking up and knitting stitches from the edge of your knitting
• picking up stitches from gaps (e.g. necessary after changes in direction)
• short rows with wrap and turn 
• grafting in garter stitch

To knit these fingerless gloves you need the following materials:

• about 35 to 40 grams of fingering weight yarn 
• 3mm needles, for fingerless gloves such as these, I tend to switch between dpns and circulars, but it's possible to use either of them
• one surplus knitting needle (of the same size (3mm))
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional COs
• a stitch holder for the thumb stitches (scrap yarn works well, too)
• 3 stitch markers and a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Diamond Lattice Cowl

Two-colour brioche is a marvellous technique. It creates a lovely, squishy texture that is comforable to wear and it can be used to create quite intricate geometric patterns.

This cowl is knitted in the round with diamond shapes in a lattice pattern. 

 

The pattern is available via

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip

The pattern PDF is 9 pages long and contains

• row-by-row instructions
• a chart of one pattern repeat
• photo tutorials of the brioche increases and decreases that you need for this cowl
• brk2Ldec (left-leaning brioche decrease)
• brk2Rdec (right-leaning brioche decrease)
• brk2inc (brioche increase)
• brkX (brioche stitch that creates the lattice effect) 

If you want to knit this pattern, you should already know how to knit two-colour brioche in the round.

You need the following materials to knit this cowl:

• about 260 to 300 grams of DK weight yarn (in total) – in two colours: I used two (semi-)solid yarns: Supertwist by Nurturing Fibres (link to the yarn's Ravelry page):
• as LY I used light grey (colorway “Driftwood”) 
• as DY I used pink (colorway “Ouma's Quilt”) 
• 4.5 mm circular knitting needles
• 22 stitch markers – one of them different
• a tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Sideways Pumpkins

 After a few really warm days in September, it's finally getting colder and wetter outside. For me, that's the moment where I really like to stay inside, make myself comfortable and have it cozy. Part of this is a bit of seasonal decoration and somehow the pumpkin is the ultimate autumn decoration (even though I cannot remember eating it as a child). That's why I decided to knit little decorative pumpkins, using old  yarn that was already in my stash. (The light orange ones are made from yarn, that was leftover when my Mum knitted a sweater in the 70ies :) 

As it is my usual go-to construction (e.g. here or here), I knitted them sideways - starting with a provisional CO, shaping the piece with short rows and finishing by grafting in garter stitch. If you want to learn one of these techniques, this might be a project to learn.

This is a project a bit like my little knitted hearts (Herzchen) - once you start knitting them, you cannot stop :)

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Size

The pumpkins I knitted measured between 6 and 11 cm in diameter - depending on yarn (fingering, to fingering held double) and needles that I used (2.25 to 3.5 mm).

Materials

• yarn – basically leftovers - I different kinds of yarn – and self-striping fingering weight yarn)
• knitting needles – dpns knitting needles, circulars or AddiTrios (both will work for the flat piece and for the i-cord), always smaller needles than the yarn called for – in order to get a tight texture, e.g. 2.25 mm for fingering weight yarn or 3.5 mm for fingering yarn held doubly
• a crochet hook (for the provisional cast-on)
• stuffing - I used the yarn ends and fabric scraps that I had saved from previous knitting or sewing projects
• a tapestry needle for grafting and weaving in ends

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits. Since the piece is all knitted in garter stitch, there is no need to pick up the wraps.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• I-Cord: shown in this YouTube video by Studio Knit.

Instructions

Pumpkin

With scrap yarn, do a provisional CO of 18 stitches and with your working yarn (see illustration 1), knit the setup row (k all, see illustration 2).

Ridge 1 (RS/WS): sl, k1, kfb, k1, kfb, k2, kfb, k2, kfb, k1, kfb, k1, kfb, k1, w+t, k20 (or k to 2 bef end), w+t
Ridge 2 (RS/WS): k5, kfb, k8, kfb, k3 (i.e. 4 bef end), w+t, k15,  (i.e. 7 bef end) w+t
Ridge 3 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k13 (i.e. 4 bef end), w+t
Ridge 4 (RS/WS): k15, w+t, k11, w+t
Ridge 5 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k12 (i.e. 6 bef end), w+t
Ridge 6 (RS/WS): k14 (i.e. 6 bef end), w+t, k15 (i.e. 5 bef end), w+t
Ridge 7 (RS/WS): k1, ssk, k10, ssk, k1 (i.e. 5 bef end), w+t, k11, w+t
Ridge 8 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k15 (i.e. 3 bef end), w+t
Ridge 9 (RS/WS): ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1 (i.e. 3 bef end), w+t, k14 (i.e. 1 bef end), w+t
Ridge 10: k17, turn, sl1, k17 (i.e. to end)

Illustrations

After the first repeat of these 10 ridges you're back to 18 stitches on your needles and the piece will look similar to illustration 3.

Repeat ridges 1 to 10 four more times, then knit ridges 1 to 8 - and a slightly altered version of ridge 9 (i.e. ridge 9b), knitting the WS row to end - or spelled out: 

Ridge 9b (RS/WS): ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, w+t, k to end

Remove the scrap yarn of the provisional CO and catch the stitches on a knitting needle. As you can see on illustration 4, the right edge of the piece is 6 rows high. That's why you first have to close up the (potential) hole at the end of the row. Then start grafting the live stitches together in garter stitch. 

When you've closed about two thirds of the row, fill the pumpkin with stuffing. Continue grafting in garter stitch to the end of the row. With the same tail, close the other (potential) hole. Then stick the needle right through the middle of the piece, and then back (illustration 5). Pull the yarn tight. That will make the piece a bit flatter and therefore more pumpkin shaped. Secure tail and weave in ends.

Please note:

• It may be helpful to mark the RS of the piece.
• When I knitted these, I sometimes miscounted my stitches. This doesn't really matter, as long as you're not too far out (and anyway, real pumpkins aren't completely symmetrical, are they?). But that's why I've included the instructions until which stitch some of the ridges are to be knitted (e.g. k to 2 bef end). This may help you to get back in sync with the pattern after having miscounted.

Stem

In contrasting yarn, knit an i-cord (of 5 stitches) of about 12 rows (or however long you want the stem), cut yarn, but leave a tail that's long enough to sew stem to pumpkin.

Use the tail to sew the stem to the pumpkin (illustration 6) and weave in ends.

Rainbow Mitts

It's been a while since I published the last fingerless glove pattern (to be precise, it was published in May 2018, my Color Explosion Mitts). However, fingerless gloves are my favorite kind of knitted items because they are so versatile - especially in terms of construction - and this is great when using variegated yarn.

And this is exactly what I did for these fingerless gloves; they are knitted in different directions and in one piece – so you only have to weave in two ends for each glove.

The pattern is available 

• on Ravelry 
• on Loveknitting 
• on Payhip

The PDF is 10 pages long and contains:

• a schematic how the mitts are constructed
• written row-by-row instructions for knitting these fingerless gloves (including 8 photos of the different stages) for one size (21 cm high with a circumference of 17 cm at the wrist edge and of 16 cm at the fingers)
• explanations how to adapt the pattern to other sizes
• short photo tutorials of the following techniques
• provisional cast on (with a crochet hook) and how to undo it
• three-needle bind-of
• picking up and knitting stitches from the edge of your knitting
• picking up stitches from gaps (e.g. necessary when changing knitting direction(
• short rows with shadow wraps

To knit this pattern the following techniques are used:

• provisional CO and how to undo it
• three needle BO
• picking up stitches from the edge of a knitted piece
• short rows with shadow wraps
• picking up stitches from a gap (e.g. when doing a thumb gusset)

For all these techniques/skills, the pattern PDF contains photo tutorials. 

You need the following materials to knit these fingerless mitts

• about 35 to 40 grams of fingering weight yarn (I used Schoeller Esslinger Wolle, Sockenwolle, Color 0008 "Regenbogen-bunt" - here's the link to the yarn's Ravelry page)
• 3mm needles, for fingerless gloves such as these, I tend to switch between dpns and circulars, but it's possible to use either of them
• in case you only use circulars, you'll a third knitting needle in a similar size for the three-needle BO, 
• a stitch holder for the thumb stitches (scrap yarn works well, too)
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional CO
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Seven Petals Potholder

After finishing my Daisy Potholders I wanted to knit a flower with a petal contour - and so I started experimenting - and surprisingly enough, it worked.
So, here is the pattern for a flower-shaped potholder, hotpad or coaster. It starts with a provisional CO, is knitted in short row wedges and finished with grafting in garter stitch.
Since this is an intarsia project with three colours that also uses short rows, it can be quite fiddly. It is NOT a beginner pattern.

The pattern is available 

• on Ravelry 
• on Loveknitting 
• on Payhip 

The pattern PDF is 12 pages long and contains

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting this piece – including four photos of the different stages 
• a pattern chart of one wedge
• short photo tutorials for the following techniques
• provisional CO with a crochet hook and how to undo it
• grafting in garter stitch
• short rows with wrap and turn and picking up the wraps 
• intarsia knitting 
• weaving in yarn while carrying it (backwards and forwards)
• photo tutorials and step-by-step explanations of
• undoing the provisional CO in this pattern (i.e. catching stitches in different colours)
• grafting this piece – with a decrease and colour changes

Of the 12 pages, the pattern instructions and chart comprise only 3 pages - the rest are the technique tutorials and explanations of their specific application for this motif.

Since it's an intarsia pattern, it looks OK from WS as well (see picture below).

To knit one of these pieces you need the following materials

• Cotton yarn in three colors – I knitted these potholders in Aran and Sports weight yarn
• for Aran, I used a total of 30 grams
• for Sports weight, I used a total of 20 grams
• knitting needles – straight or circulars: I used 3mm needles for Aran weight yarn and 2.5mm needles for Sports weight yarn, i.e. smaller than the yarn usually requires because I wanted a firm texture. 
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional CO
• two tapestry needles for grafting and to weave in ends

The pieces I knitted measure 16 cm to 22 cm in diameter - depending on the yarn weight I used.

"Darn it!" or Kintsugi

My Cable Experiment Mitts (one of my first ever knitting patterns published back in 2012) were my favorite fingerless gloves to wear - even though they are quite plain and I have knitted far more interesting pairs of fingerless gloves ...

Quite a while ago, I ripped a hole into the upper edge. (In fact, I had to scroll quite far down in my Instagram feed to find out that this happened was in November 2015 - i.e. nearly five years ago).
Back then, somebody pointed me towards the idea of Kintsugi (金継ぎ, "golden joinery") - a Japanese technique to mend broken pottery with gold in way that the crack is still visible, but beautifully so.
Translated to knitting, it meant for me that I wanted to mend it with a beautiful shiny yarn, that would stand out from the dark brown (and cheap) sock yarn that I had used to knit the mitts.
But to mend something like that you really need your concentration and to be in the right state of mind. So I put the ripped mitts safely away ...

This weekend I felt a bit uninspired (or lazy) to continue any of my current knitting projects, so I thought, I might just try to mend these old mitts. First I had to search for them - I had moved house inbetween - so that was OK. Afterwards, I looked for video tutorials on YouTube to teach me the basics of mending knitware. I found this Video by KNIT Freedom and watched it.

Finally, I started the actual mending - using Araucania Botany Lace (here's the yarn's Ravelry page, leftovers from a Hitchhiker scarf I knitted back in 2012). It is fiddly work, especially since I hadn't done this before - and I had to undo bits of it and redo them. I even managed to sew both sides together once :( But in the end it worked, now everything is secure and wearable again.
Here's how it looks ...

Considering that this is the first time, I've ever tried to darn or mend a piece of knitted fabric, I'm quite happy - even though I had hoped it would turn out a bit neater.
And I'm even tempted to make the patch a bit bigger or to put some more embroidery on the upper edge of the piece, because I really like the contrast of the two yarns.